Jared Crouch returned to his car after a morning at University in Sydney on Thursday 7 May 1998 to find a piece of paper stuck inside the door of his car.

It was a message that would set him on a path towards an extraordinary piece of Swans and AFL history.

The message had come from then Swan coach Rodney Eade via his girlfriend’s mother, Sandra Abrahams, now his mother-in-law, and asked him to call Eade urgently.

Why? Because after two and a half years on the Swans list the then 20-year-old South Australian had received a late call-up and had to be on a plane early the next morning to make his AFL debut against Collingwood at the MCG the following night.

As Crouch recalled this week, it was the first time he’d been named as a Swans emergency and he was happy just to be an emergency.

“I didn’t have a mobile phone back then, and I can still remember the phone box at Ashfield I used to ring Rocket (Eade). It’s still there … or at least I think it’s still there. I haven’t driven past it for a while,” Couch said.

Who pulled out of the side for Crouch to get a game? “I want to say Mark Orchard .. I think .. but I’m not absolutely sure.”

It was a special debut. A Friday night at the MCG against Collingwood. Tony Lockett kicked 10 goals for three Brownlow Medal votes and the Swans had a six-goal win in front of a crowd of 57,894. Crouch had nine possessions after sitting on the bench until midway through the third quarter.

Remarkably, the diminutive 174cm utility player went on to play 194 consecutive games from debut. An AFL record. Easily.

And on 25 August 2007, 13 years ago today, he became the 22^nd player to play 200 games for the Swans. And the 11^th-youngest among what is now a group of 29.

But ask Crouch what he remembers of his big milestone game and he’ll answer in one word – “nothing”. He couldn’t recall who it was against, where, when or anything. And it’s the same for other milestone games.

“You put your career into perspective, and as much as 200 games is a great achievement and something I’m really proud of, you play football to win premierships,” he said.

“I could tell you everything about the four finals and the premiership in ’05. That’s what it is all about. The rest of it is just part of the journey.”

Coincidentally, Crouch’s 200^th game was back where it all started. Against Collingwood at the MCG in Round 20, 2007.

Michael O’Loughlin was the only Swans teammate from his first game still in the side, while Nathan Buckley was the sole survivor from the opposition.

This time the Pies won by 25 points. Adam Goodes had 33 possessions to pick up three Brownlow votes in a losing side. And Crouch had nine possessions again.

Football statisticians will tell you the other big milestone in Crouch’s wonderful career was his 159^th consecutive game in Round 3, 2005 against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

That was the night he broke the AFL record for most consecutive games from debut, which at the time stood to Fitzroy great John Murphy, father of current Carlton captain Marc Murphy.

Sydney kicked 7.3 to 1.1 in the final quarter to win by six points after being 32 points down at three-quarter time. But, again, not big on the Crouch radar.

Fast forward to September that year and it’s like it was only yesterday.

The Swans, third on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season, lost the qualifying final to West Coast by four points in Perth before beating Geelong by three points at the SCG in the semi-final and then St Kilda by 31 points in the preliminary final at the MCG.

Then, in the greatest moment of his career, they beat West Coast by four points to break the 72- year premiership drought.

“Other than the first few games it was the only time in my career I got really nervous,” Crouch recalls.

“I remember sitting down in the hotel on the morning of the grand final feeling a bit tense so I decided to go upstairs, pack my bags and get on the bus early. I was still tense.

“When we got to the MCG it was the first time we’d been in the new change rooms and as we wandered through and had a look around I was still nervous.

“But when I walked up the race and got into the game I was OK.

“Everyone remembers that game for the great Leo Barry mark in a close finish at the end but I was always confident right from when we beat St Kilda the week before.

“I played in defence for most of the second half and when I looked around I could see that everyone was doing what needed to be done. I just knew we were not going to lose.

“At the end I realised I’d lived my childhood dream. It was very special. My Mum and Dad were there with my four brothers, my wife and her family, and a few aunts and uncles … I don’t know how I got so many tickets.

“When you think of the journey from being a youngster just hoping to get a chance to living that dream … it’s awesome.”

The Crouch dream started at Norwood in South Australia. He was drafted by the Swans at #8 in a 1995 AFL National Draft which, curiously, was as productive at the bottom end as it was at the top end.

Ahead of Crouch, Clive Waterhouse was pick #1 to Fremantle. He played 106 games and was followed by Matthew Primus (157), Brendan Fewster (70), Scott Bamford (59), Brendan Krummel (74), Daniel Healy (38) and Fremantle draftee Ben Edwards, who never played a game.

Behind Crouch at #9, making up the top 20, was Allen Jakovich (54 games), Simon Prestigiacomo (233), Donald Cockatoo-Collins (9), Andrew Gowling (0), Brad Rowe (73), Luke Trew (0), Darren Wheildon (70), Shane Clayton (117), Scott Welsh (205), Brent Williams (7), Barry Hall (289) and Nick Carter (25).

AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey (432 games) went at #47, followed by Darren Milburn (292) at #48, Daniel Bradshaw (231) at #56, plus father/son picks Joel Bowden (265) and Ben Cousins (270), and zone selection James Clement (230).

Crouch’s 194-game unbroken stretch ranks sixth all-time on the list of most consecutive games behind Jim Stynes (244), Adem Yze (226), Goodes (204), Jack Titus (202) and Brett Kirk (200).

Eight other Swans players have played more than 100 games in a row: Jude Bolton (145), Darren Jolly (142), John Rantall (139), Josh Kennedy (127), Ryan O’Keefe (121), Barry Hall (113), Daryn Cresswell (108) and Brian McGowan (103).

Nearest to the Crouch record for consecutive games from debut among current players is North Melbourne’s Sam Gibson. He’s scheduled to play his 130^th in a row this weekend.

In the end, an ankle injury suffered in the 2005 grand final, compounded by a broken collarbone, ended Crouch’s unbroken run after Round 12, 2006.

 “I didn’t realise how bad the ankle was until the start of the ’06 season and even then I thought I could keep playing. Then I broke my collarbone and it became a vicious cycle. I couldn’t get my ankle right because I couldn’t train.

“Even today my ankle isn’t right. I can jog 100m but if I try to run 5km or 10km it fills up with blood. When you’re an AFL player you’ve got all the time in the world to get it fixed, but it’s not so easy now.”

After such an extraordinary run Crouch played 12-8-7-14 games in his last four seasons. Or 29 of a possible 67 from the time he first missed a game.

“Things balance out. In my first year I had stress fractures in my foot and hardly played, and then I had injuries at the end. It all washes out,” he said.

Crouch represented Australia in the International Rules series in 2003 and 2004 and was well known for some of his tagging jobs on Brisbane Brownlow Medallist Jason Akermanis at the peak of his career.

Six years in a row he finished top 10 in the Swans’ club championship from 1999-2004 – 6^th-7^th-7^th-4^th-10^th-7^th – but he wasn’t flashy.

He was the epitomy of a role player. He just did his job. Every week. Whatever the coach asked. Reliable and dependable. A team player respected most by his teammates.

Only six times in 223 games did he have more than 20 possessions and only five times did he kick more than one goal. Only four times did he figure in the Brownlow Medal votes, and only once did he get three votes.

When? It was Round 14, 2001 against Carlton at the SCG, when Tadgh Kennelly made his AFL debut. It was Crouch’s 77^th game. He had 15 possessions and kicked two goals in a 10-point win. But don’t ask him about it. He won’t remember.

He didn’t remember either when he retired in 2009, and said as much at the time as he has now.

“I don’t have a great recollection of standout games or anything like that. To me it is all about the friendships I have made over the years. 

“Like those with the boys who retired with me, Mick O’Loughlin and Leo Barry, current players Adam Goodes, Jarrad McVeigh and Jude Bolton, past players Matthew Nicks, Jason Ball and Tadhg Kennelly to name just a few, as well as the coaching staff and people at the Club. To me, that is what is really important and special.

“I have loved all the things that footy has allowed me to do, from being an ambassador for World Youth Day, going to New York to run in the famous marathon for the Heart Foundation, being an Oncology Children’s Foundation ambassador, to all the thousands of kids I have got to visit and meet through the Team Swans programme. They are all highlights as well.

Paul Roos, coach at the time, said Crouch would be missed for what he brought to the club on and off the field.

“From the first moment Crouchy walked into the club I could see he had a single minded desire simply to be the best player he could possibly be and he would do everything in his power to achieve that goal,” Roos said.

“It was this attitude that enabled him to play on and beat some of the best midfielders of the modern era and to be one of the most important players in our 2005 premiership year, earning the Best Finals Player Award.

“He is also one player who has fully embraced the footy club, including being at the forefront of our Team Swans community programme, which means he will not only be missed on the field but also off the field.”

Now 39 and sharing with wife Rebecca the joys of raising three boys aged four, two and one, Crouch is still a pivotal part of the Swans program as coach of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy.

Having taken on this key development role in 2011, he has seen the likes of Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills come through his program to more than justify the club’s faith.

He also left a lasting legacy via a comment he made at the time of his record-breaking 160^th game in a row when asked about the sacrifices he’d made to keep getting up each week.

He said: “I've never made a sacrifice in my life. The only people to ever make a sacrifice are soldiers. I've made a choice to be a footballer, to do what I do. I think sacrifice is a word that people use to glorify what they are doing and the only people who ever do that is a soldier."